In a small town Kasperskie Gory there live only 1500 people . And the town itself is located in the south-west, on the very edge of the Czech Republic, about 30 km from the border with Germany . What are the good Kashperskie Gory for the traveler? Firstly, strangely enough, the mountains . Panoramas around are simply fantastic on all four sides . Of course, it's not the Alps, but the spectacle of morning or evening mist-covered hills, overgrown with dense forest, mesmerizes . Secondly , near the town there is a remarkable medieval castle Kashperk . To the present time it has been restored almost to the original state and very photogenic. .

If to speak about the town as such, only a few words will suffice: quiet, small, cozy . All this - in superlatives, as in any provincial town of the Czech Republic. And this has both pluses and minuses. The advantages are the utmost security, noise protection and a peaceful pastime that travelers are waiting for here. Cons - in the problems that arise when trying to have dinner after 19:00

A bit of history

The first mention of Kashper The mountains are found in written sources in 1337 g . And it is quite certain that the royal castle Kasperk was founded here by Karel I in 1356 g . The historic Old Town arose in the 13th century near the place where the gold was found . Gothic Castle Kasperk was built on a hill above the sea ode to Charles IV in the second half of the 14th century to protect the gold mines and the province's borders, but in the 17th century it turned into ruins . At the end of the 16th century the Golden Route passed through the city, which served as an impetus to the development of the settlement, but by the end of the 16th century gold mining was limited, and in 1777 . stopped completely . Nowadays attempts are being made to revive gold mining in the region .

How to get there

By car from Prague (150 km) or from Cesky Krumlov ( 85 km). The nearest major city is Ceske Budejovice, from here you can get to Susice (with a transfer in Gorazhovice, the total journey time is about an hour and a half). From Susice to Kasperskie Gory there are regular buses.

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Kashperskiye Mountains

Kashperskie Gory are very small and, unless you are you are going to wander all day on foot around the surrounding hills, you can get bored very quickly . For example, the main (and only) city square is called Namesti - that is, "area" . But for lovers of long hiking, this town - what you need . On that single square you can see a wonderful post from top to bottom hung with signs for various hiking routes . Each of the trails, tourist or scientific, has its own name, sometimes quite funny . It should be taken into account that these routes are short (except that the route to the castle, but its relatively small length of 3 km is offset by a slope) .

Great The second part of the city buildings refers to the prosperity period of the Kashpera Mountains - that is, to the Middle Ages. Among the Gothic buildings stands the City Hall, which was originally a Renaissance, but in the 18th century it was rebuilt in the Baroque style. This curious building with a facade of three parts and a small thin spire on the center is distinguished by its location on the street: because of the slope of the landscape, the Town Hall seems to have grown "one by one" into the pavement.

Attractive and recognizable medieval St. Marches (Margaritas). It is visible from afar thanks to a rectangular high bell tower with a sharp gothic spire. The church was built in the 14th century, but at the end of the 19th century it was converted to Gothic Revival. Admiring the church, pay attention to the cross on the spire: it looks weird, but directly on it sits a huge bronze cock. Other architectural sights include the old fountain and sculpture of Jan Nepomuk in a low column

Museums

Despite the tiny dimensions, the Kashper Mountains can amuse amateurs of museums .In addition to the main one, the Museum of the Sumava, there is the Museum of Traditional Toys, the Museum of Moto Technology and the Beer Museum . The only subtlety is that they all work seasonally or by prior request . All the museums are rather small, but the expositions in them are surprisingly " concentrated: in the motorcycle museum there are about 70 pieces of equipment, and the museum of brewing is generally bursting with bottles and entertaining devices that served at different times for making the drink .

Kashperk Castle

The main and in fact the only attraction , R which tourists usually visit the Kashpera Mountains, is Kasperk Castle (during the construction it carried a more "German" name - Karlsberg) . Its construction was completed in the 1360s ., and the first owner of the castle was the Archbishop of Prague . Subsequently, the castle was repeatedly passed from hand to hand . During the Hussite uprising the castle was not damaged, and its next owner even strengthened it with an extra stand-alone bastion located several hundred meters from the main castle . Today this bastion is called "Empty Hradek" and practically lnostyu destroyed . In itself it is not very interesting, but it can be done with amazing panorama photo Sumava .

Finally, the Czech nobility decided that Kashperk Castle was not needed by anyone, and in 1616 . it was bought by the city . The castle is still is in the possession of Kasperskie Ghor . True, in the 17th century this helped him a little: in reality, after the transfer to city ownership, the fortress began to collapse very quickly . In 1655 the . decree was taken to demolish the old castles, and Kashperk began to dismantle the pebble by the inhabitants of the city, using building materials for their own homes . In the first floor the fault of the 20th century once an impregnable castle was actually a ruin . But after that reconstruction began, and today the fortress is restored to a fair degree .

Nevertheless, the restoration process that began somewhere in the 1970s ., is still not finished. Currently, you can look inside and admire the interiors, as well as climb any of the two towers to view the landscape from the top of the hill. And this spectacle is worth the effort (and money for the tour), because Kashperk, according to some sources, can be considered the highest situated castle in the country. It is built almost 890 meters above sea level, and even to climb to the fortress from the parking lot, it will have to sweat.

The museum houses original medieval artifacts and antique furniture. And in the castle territory, there are simple entertainment for tourists like archery.

Photo of Kashperskiye Gory (10)